Yielding support.



G. W. GILLESPIE 81 P. L. ROOKLEDGE.

YIELDING SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 7. 1912.

1,1453% Patented July 6, 1915.

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GEORGE WINFIELD GILLESPIE AND PERCIVAL L. ROOKLEDGE, OF CAMBRIA, CALI- FORNIA; SAID ROOKLEDG-E ASSIGNOR TO SAID GILLESPIE.

YIELDING SUPPORT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE W. GIL- LEsPrE and PERCIVAL L. ROOKLEDGE, both citizens of the United States, residing at Cambria, in the county of San Luis Obispo and State of California, have invented a new and useful Yielding Support, of which the following is a specification. f This invention includes novel features divided out of our application for vehicle spring, filed November 30, 1910 and issued into Letters Patent 1,044,692, dated November 19, 1912 and also includes improvements over said novel features. 7

An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle support in which the sprlng is provided with self-contained imizing rebounding and bucking of the vehicle body over rough roads and lessening the liability of breakage to the spring. For this purpose we provide a spring composed of a plurality of leaves of which the. expansive power of some of the leaves is in opposition to and is the reverse of the expansive power of other leaves of the set.

It is necessary in supports having leafsprings to iprovide means to prevent endwise slipping o the leaves relative to each other and to the axle. Ordinarily for this purpose each leaf is either perforated for a fastening bolt or has a teat pressed from its surface and such perforations and teat are at the point of greatest strain, viz., at the base of the spring directly over the 'axle, at which place breakage of the spring generally occurs.

The perforation as is easily understood, thus weakens the leaf by removal of metal from the critical point in its structure and the teat in effect does the same because the production of the teat displaces the metal at that point.

An object of this invention is to eliminate the foregoing objections and at the same time to effectually secure the spring leaves against endwise slipping without in any manner weakening the leaves. To attain this object in the cheapest and most practi-' cal way, We provide each of the spring leaves with a crook which differs from the crook commonly employed in crook springs by being bent in the same direction as and Specification of Letters Patent.

resistance against its too violent return after it has I absorbed shocks imposed upon it, thus min- Patented July 6, 1915.

Application filed February 7, 1912. Serial No. 676,160.

to a somewhat greater curvature than the general curvature of the leaf and by being substantially an inch in length and of not greater depth than the thickness of the leaf; and the crooks in all of the leaves are of the same curvature and are formed to like radii, so that they may be stamped with one die and will fit snugly into one another.'

match the convex face of the crook in the spring leaf, and the seat is provided with arches embracing the spring and bolted to a yoke which extends from. side to side of the spring and which is provided with a convexity to fit the concave face of the crook 1n the spring leaf. By these means the spring is firmly held against slipping endwise on the seat and the leaves are positively secured against slipping endwise relative to each other and the center of the spring 1 sprevented from expanding and movlng 1n a reverse direction to the direc tion of movement of the other portions of the spring when the spring is working under shocks, thus minimizing the tendency to crystallization.

Other objects and advantages may appear in the subjoined detail description.

The invention comprises the novel spring,

the novel spring seat and the various parts and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the nventlon in connection with a vehicle axle, it being understood that a similar device may be used, if desired for connecting the vehicle body to a full elliptic spring.

Figure l is a side elevation of the invention applled to a vehicle axle which is shown in cross section. The spring shown ma v be I the middle portion of any one of the spring leaves. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the spring seat. Fig. 7 is a plan section of the seat on line m", Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the spring leaves disassembled. Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6 are in the same scale, Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale and Fig. 3 on an intermediatescale. In Fig. 2 small arrows on the leaves indicate the tendency or direction of expansive force of the leaves respectively when the spring is at 'rest under normal load or no load; thus indicating a spring having self contained resistance against too violent return of the spring to normal position after it has absorbeda shock imposed upon it.

The spring 1 may be considered as a semielliptic spring or one half of a full elliptic spring and is composed of main leaves 2, 3, lower leaves 4, 5, 6, 7, and upper leaves 8, 9, 10, the main and lower leaves being bent so as to exert their expansive force in a reverse direction to the expansive force of the upper leaves which may be formed straight or may be bent in such manner as will produce a desired amount of resistance to the expansion of the main and lower leaves. By, such arrangement of the leaves the spring is provided with self contained resistance against its too violent return after it has absorbed the shock, thus minimizing rebounding and tossing of the vehicle body, not shown, and lessening the liability of breakage of the spring leaves. s

It is understood hat the spring leaves may be variously arranged in sets of any desired number to obtain a desired effect, for which reason we do not limit the construction to the arrangement and number of leaves shown in the drawings. Each of the spring leaves 2 to 10 inclusive is provided at its middle portion with a transverse crook 11, the crooks of the. several leaves having the same curvature and being formed to like radii, so that the crooks all fit snugly together' and may be pressed with one die. The curvature of the .crooks 11 is preferably in the same direction as the generai curvature of the spring and is ofcomparatively slight extent, being not greatenthan the thickness of' the spring leaf so as in no wise to weaken the leaves by undue displacement of metal or distortion of the leaf at this point of greatest strain. Each crook forms an articulating rib.

The spring leaf 7 rests upon and is supported by a flat seat 12 which may be a steel or bronze casting or anyother suitable formation and is provided with a transverse channel like concavity 13 to receive and snugly fit the convex face of the crook 11 of the spring leaf 7. The channel 13 is preferably of less width than the seat so that portions of the lower spring leaf will rest on the seat at both sides of the channel in order that therewill be no tendency for relat1v e movement between the spring and its seat, the portions on both sides of the channel preventing turning of the spring seat about the center from which the arc of the spring crook 11 is struck.

The seat 12 is provided 011 bothsides of the concavity 13 and spring 1 with arches or lugs-14 having slots 15 on their adjacent faces to receive bolts 16, the heads 17 of which are accommodated in the recesses 18 of the arches and are formed with one margin flush with their shanks so as to lie close against leaves together at thecrooks 11 between the seat concavity 13 and the yoke convexity 20, thus preventing endwise slipping of the several spring leaves relative to one another and to the seat 12 and yoke 19 and also preventing the center of the spring from expanding and moving in a reverse direction to the direction of movement of the other portions of the spring when the spring is working under shocks, thus minimizing the tendency to crystallization and consequent rupture of the leaves at this point ofmost frequent breakage. The seat 12 may also be provided near its ends with the usual U-bolts 23, if desired, which pass from side to side of the spring 1 and are provided with nuts 24, 25 to draw them tight. The seat 12'is preferably made separate from the axle 26 as shown in the drawings and the U-bolts may be passed through the axle flange 27, to firmly secure the spring 1, seat 12 and axle 26 together. The separate construction of theseat 12 is preferred in order that it may be formed and fitted to the spring during the manufacture of the spring, so as topractically make it an integral part of the spring.

It is thus seen that we have produced a yielding support comprisinga spring composed of leaves the expansive powers of which are opposed to each other and that the opposing powers of different portions of thespring tend to brace the parts of the spring against one another and to return the spring to and maintain it in normal position with maximum resiliency and minimum tendency to crystallize; and that we have provided a novel construction of spring and spring seat whereby the spring is positively prevented from shifting or becoming displaced when clamped thereon by the usual U-bolts; and have provided for further socurity against slipping or loosening by means of the crook and the yoke held therein by the bolts 16 and their nuts.

e claim 1. A yielding support comprising a spring composed of leaves having crooks of like radii, a seat having a concavity to fit the convex face of one of the leaf crooks and provided with recessed arches embracing the spring and provided with slots opening into the recesses, a.yoke provided with a convexity to fit the concave face of another of the leaf crooks, and bolts in the arch slots and formed to lie close against the sides of the spring and having their heads accommodated in the arch recesses.

2. A yielding support comprising a spring composed of leaves having crooks of like radii, a seat having a depression to fit one of the leaf crooks and provided With recessed arches embracing the springs and provided with slots opening into the recesses, a yoke to fit the crooks, and bolts in the arch slots and formed to lie close against the sides of the spring and having their heads accommodated in the arch recesses.

3. A yielding support comprising a spring composed of leaves having crooks, a seat to fit the crooks and provided with recessed arches embracing the springs and provided with slots opening into the recesses, a yoke to fit the crooks, and bolts in the arch slots and formed to lie close against the sides of the spring and having-their heads accommodated in the arch recesses.

4. A yielding support comprising a spring composed of leaves having crooks of like radii, a seat having a transverse channel to fit one of said crooks and having lugs projecting up at the ends of the channel on both sides of the spring, a yoke, and bolts connecting said lugs and yoke.

5. The spring seat set forth provided With arches at the sides forming recesses therebeneath, there being slots on the inner faces of the. arches, said slots extending to the recesses. v

6. The spring seat set forth provided With a concavity and with arches having their inner faces in alinement With the sides of the concavity, said arches forming recesses extending to the sides of the concavity.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Cambria, California, this 29 day of January, 1912.

GEORGE WINFIELI) GILLESPIE. PERClVAL L. ROOKLEDGE.

R. A. PLASKETT, J. A. VARRINER. 

